1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus and more particularly to a head adjustment mechanism in a recording and/or reproducing apparatus having a recording and/or reproducing head which is shiftable along an axis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the conventional recording and/or reproducing apparatus of the kind recording and/or reproducing a signal by bringing a magnetic recording and/or reproducing head into contact with rotating type record bearing medium such as a magnetic sheet or drum, the apparatus is arranged to vary the recording or reproducing position by shifting the head a the direction of crossing the rotating direction of the record bearing medium. However, if the contacting condition between the head and the medium is inadequate in the apparatus of this kind, there would arise a so-called spacing or azimuth loss causing the recording or reproducing characteristics to be degraded by lowered input or output to or from the record bearing medium during recording or reproducing operation. Further, in respect of the interchangeability of the record bearing medium, the tolerance for the azimuth error becomes extremely limited. The seriousness of this problem particularly increases where the record wave length of a signal is short on the record bearing medium.
To ensure adequate contact between the head and the record bearing medium, therefore, the conventional recording and/or reproducing apparatus is arranged to have the head mounted on a head carriage with very fine adjustment carried out by means of a microscope before fixing it in place when mounting it on the carriage. Further, in case of an apparatus arranged to record and/or reproduce a signal such as a video signal that has an extremely short recording wave length on the medium, the recording and/or reproducing apparatus is provided with a head adjustment mechanism for adjusting the contact state between the head and the record bearing medium, because the above-stated fixing method is inadequate in that instance.
However, the conventional head adjustment mechanism does not permit easy adjustment since it is arranged at the head carriage as shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings. In addition to that, the conventional adjustment mechanism does not allow much latitude for adjustment. Besides, the conventional arrangement results in an increased weight of the head carriage and thus requires a large driving force in shifting the position of the head relative to the record bearing medium as mentioned in the foregoing.